When you reach Kanhaiya Lal Teli’s house, you will meet a guard outside the gate who confirms your details, writes down your basics in his government diary and then allows you to proceed. Once you climb the steep stairs to the first floor, a giant LCD TV adorns the wall beaming live footage from four CCTV cameras. By the time this interview got wrapped up, one of the brothers got a call from his Personal Security Guard (PSO) who would accompany him to his office.
This is a brief glimpse of the life of the Teli’s household ever since the tailor was attacked, dragged out of his shop in Udaipur’s Bhoot Mahal area, and beheaded by Muhammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Muhammad for extending his support to now-suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma’s controversial statement. Since June 28, 2022, life has come to a standstill for the trio — Kanhaiya Lal’s sons Yash and Tarun, and wife Jashoda.
But with the Assembly elections in Rajasthan around the corner, not just the two seats in Udaipur but Kanhaiya Lal’s murder is hotly debated in adjoining districts of Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Bhilwara — that together constitute the Mewar region of Rajasthan.
A Silent Protest
Ever since the murder, the elder son of Kanhaiya Lal has stopped wearing shoes and slippers. He has been walking barefoot as an act of silent protest. “My brother hasn’t trimmed his hair or worn any shoes ever since. I shudder from thinking how will he manage in winter,” Tarun tells News18. “The state government knows about it. But I wonder how he will endure this.”
Jashoda, who was sitting at a distance and listening to her son speak, interjected, “A Maharashtra minister recently came to meet us. He gifted a pair of socks to Yash requesting him to wear it at least. But he chose to walk barefoot to register protest and demand justice for his father.”
A while later as Yash’s PSO arrived, he took the key of his bike and went down barefoot. Neither the security guards nor his neighbours blinked an eyelid. “By now, I am used to it. But yes, once I went to Delhi. The streets were very dirty. Walking there barefoot was really tough,” says Yash as he manages his year-and-a-half long hair that’s now touched his shoulder.
Another Year Without Diwali
“The last Diwali went by as regular days for us. We didn’t celebrate. This year too, we won’t be celebrating. The day they (Muhammad Riyaz Attari and Ghaus Muhammad) will be punished, it will be Diwali for us in the truest sense,” insists Tarun, as his voice was slowly choking.
Tarun wonders aloud why the wheels of justice is progressing slowly. “Look, we had the video (of the murder, which was shot by one of the accused) which is watertight evidence. We also had enough witnesses, as many as one would need. Yet the case continues to drag. Particularly, the two prime accused should have been punished by virtue of the video alone,” Tarun told News18, almost coaxing to know for how long they would have to endure this, while softly wiping his tears.
Jashoda quips they don’t get excited for festivities anymore. “It occurs to us, why are these festivals taking place? We don’t feel the urge to observe them anymore,” she says. While she also cries, she manages to speak. “I am finding it tough to manage them (her sons)”, she complains — a complaint almost to herself.
Kanhaiya Lal’s Ghost Haunts Congress
If politics is about perception, Congress has lost the battle on this issue. Though the NIA has taken over the case and the state government has very limited or no role to play— the handling of the case in its initial days seems to bother many not only in the two assembly constituencies in Udaipur but in many seats in the adjoining districts as well.
“This is definitely a political issue,” says Tarun. Both the brothers were given jobs by the Congress and provided security. But Tarun is critical of the state government. “On his first death anniversary, the public held one remembrance meet apart from the one we did. Police stopped them and took them away in jeeps,” said Tarun.
Jashoda hopes public angst over the issue will be reflected in the EVM machines. “Ab dikhna to chahiya,” she says. “They (accused) are not yet punished. They must be thrilled that the government hasn’t done anything… Today, he (Kanhaiya Lal) is the victim. Tomorrow it can be someone else,” she said.
She did not pretend to hide her emotions. “We are upset with the government. And we will continue to be till they are hanged to death,” she says, adding that she won’t immerse his husband’s ashes (in the Ganges) till the perpetrators are hanged to death.
As News18 visited the now-shuttered Kanhaiya Lal’s shop in the old part of the city, Ashok Khatik, who saw the immediate aftermath of the mayhem, said, “Wo bhayanak tha (that was dreadful). We can’t ever forget that.”
The Centre had called Kanhaiya Lal’s murder “an act of terror” and had asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the matter.